Mid-term Evaluation of NGO Programmes Under EEA Grants 2009-2014

The EEA Financial Mechanism (2009-2014) have committed 160,4 million to support seventeen NGO Programmes in sixteen countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Spain. The overall objective of the EEA Grants NGO Programmes is strengthened civil society development and enhanced contribution to social justice, democracy and sustainable development in each of the beneficiary countries. As of 30 of June 2014, 957 projects in total of 53,793,561 have been supported mainly in the fields of democracy, citizen participation, human rights, social justice and empowerment, sustainable development and provision of basic welfare services. The mid-term evaluation of the NGO Programmes funded by the EEA Financial Mechanism (2009- 2014) is an independent formative evaluation. Its objective was two-fold: 1) to assess the progress and needs for improvement of the current Programmes, and 2) to inform policies for the next financial period. The main purpose of this evaluation was to provide an expert independent mid-term assessment of the contribution of the EEA Grants 2009-2014 to the NGO sectors in the beneficiary states operating NGO Programmes. The evaluation was of dual nature: (1) of a formative evaluation to identify progress and needs for improvement of the current Programmes and (2) of a forward oriented strategic review to inform policies for the next financial period

Nauki o polityce publicznej

Uniwersytet Warszawsk

NEGLIGENCE AS A FORM OF HARMING CHILDREN AND YOUTH

Celem artykułu było wykazanie, że zaspokojenie potrzeb dziecka jest istotnym elementem wpływającym na kształtowanie jego dobra i zapewnienie bezpiecznego rozwoju. W tym celu autorka odwołuje się do wyników badań własnych dotyczących analizy pola semantycznego pojęcia dobra dziecka. Ich rezultatem było ujawnienie zasobów wiedzy przypisanych do poszczególnych ról zawodowych i zbadanie zinternalizowanych w nich znaczeń (zarówno konotacyjnych – zwykle oczywistych, jak i denotacyjnych – często nieoczywistych, a nawet nieuświadamianych). Badania prowadzono z udziałem przedstawicieli wybranych zawodów działających na rzecz dzieci i pracujących z nimi – sędziów rodzinnych, kuratorów, pracowników socjalnych, asystentów oraz przedstawicieli NGO. Jednocześnie autorka stawia tezę, że niezaspokojenie potrzeb materialnych związanych z ubóstwem, o których mowa w artykule, nie jest zjawiskiem, które prowadzi do umieszczania dzieci poza rodziną. W opinii autorki zaniedbywanie różnorodnych potrzeb dzieci jest skutkiem nawarstwienia wielu sprzężonych ze sobą problemów występujących w rodzinie, takich jak uzależnienie, przemoc czy niezaradność w sprawach opiekuńczych. Jednocześnie autorka zauważa, że chociaż regulacje prawne dotyczące wsparcia materialnego rodzin są pożądane, to nie rozwiążą problemów związanych z zaniedbywaniem potrzeb psychicznych i emocjonalnych małoletnich dzieci.The aim of the article is to demonstrate that meeting the needs of children is an important element that influences their welfare and ensures secure development. This is why the author refers to the results of her own studies focusing on the semantic field analysis of the concept of child welfare. In them, she revealed the pools of knowledge attributed to individual professional roles and explored the meanings internalised in them (both connotational – usually obvious, and denotational – often not obvious or even unconscious). The studies were carried out with the participation of the representatives of selected professions working for the benefit of children and with them, such as family judges, court-appointed guardians, social workers, assistants and NGO representatives. At the same time, the author argues in the article that unsatisfied material needs due to poverty do not lead to the placement of children outside their families. In the author’s opinion, neglecting a variety of children’s needs is a consequence of the compilation of many interrelated problems arising within the family, including addiction, violence or helplessness in terms of care. The author also notes that although legal regulations granting financial support to families are desirable, they will not solve the problems caused by the negligence of psychological and emotional needs of minor children

Social work with families – a context of social service cooperation in local environment for the benefit of the child. Perspective of family assistants

The article aims to present data describing social services’ cooperation for the child’s benefit from the perspective of the family assistants. Basing on the assistants’ opinions, a coherent picture of the nature of child wellness emerged. Also, the issue of meeting of not only basic, but also psychologialc and social needs is described. The study suggests the need of coorperation between family assistant and other social services’ representatives in order to obtain complementary and effective help for the families

Praca socjalna z rodziną – kontekst współpracy służb społecznych w środowisku lokalnym na rzecz dobra dziecka. Perspektywa asystentów rodziny

Celem artykułu jest przybliżenie wyników badań własnych dotyczących współpracy służb społecznych na rzecz dobra dziecka w środowisku lokalnym w perspektywie asystentów rodziny. Z wypowiedzi badanych asystentów rodziny wyłania się spójny obraz tego, czym jest dobro dziecka, zaspokojenie potrzeb nie tylko podstawowych, ale także psychicznych, społecznych i emocjonalnych. Badani wskazują także na konieczność współpracy asystenta z przedstawicielami innych służb, tak aby działania na rzecz rodziny były efektywne i komplementarne

Country Report 2018: Poland

Polish law permits individuals to act collectively through unregistered groups or organizations. Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland from 1997 provides that “The Republic of Poland shall ensure freedom for the creation and functioning of trade unions, socio-occupational organizations of farmers, societies, citizens' movements, other voluntary associations and foundations.” POs are free from legal impediments from the state and from onerous registration requirements

Child welfare from the perspective of family judges and social services in the context of supporting the biological family in regaining custody over the child

Decyzja o umieszczeniu dziecka poza rodziną jest trudna nie tylko dla przedstawicieli instytucji, które są zaangażowane w proces pomocy rodzinie i mają poczucie niepowodzenia swoich działań. Decyzja ta przesądza o przyszłości dziecka, o trwałości więzi łączących go z rodzicami biologicznymi oraz rodzeństwem. Także decyzja o powrocie dziecka do rodziny jest zwykle trudna, często też obarczona ryzykiem niepowodzenia, choć trzeba zaznaczyć, że reintegracja i odzyskanie opieki nad dzieckiem przez rodziców biologicznych powinna być celem działań podejmowanych wobec rodziny przez służby społeczne i jej przedstawicieli, o ile to tylko możliwe. Celem publikacji jest naświetlenie trudności, jakie mogą się pojawić w kontekście wsparcia rodziny naturalnej w odzyskiwaniu opieki nad dzieckiem. Aby je zilustrować, przedstawiono wyniki badań własnych autorki, w ramach których dokonano analizy pola semantycznego pojęcia „dobro dziecka”, w tym także analizy jego opozycji w odniesieniu do następujących środowisk zawodowych: sędziów rodzinnych, kuratorów zawodowych, pracowników socjalnych, asystentów rodziny, przedstawicieli dwóch typów organizacji społecznych – sprofilowanych oraz animacyjnych.The decision about placing a child outside his or her family is difficult for the representatives of the institutions involved in the process of helping the family. The representatives might feel they have failed in their efforts. This decision also determines the future of the child and the possibility of maintaining the bond with his or her biological parents and siblings. Moreover, the decision about returning the child to the family is usually hard and associated with a risk of failure. It needs to be said that reintegration and regaining custody over the child by his or her biological parents should be the focus of the activities taken by social services and their representatives in aid of families. The aim of this article is to discuss the difficulties that might arise in the context of supporting the natural family in regaining custody over the child. In order to illustrate these difficulties, the author presents the results of her own studies in which she carried out an analysis of the semantic field related to the “welfare of the child”, which included an analysis in relation to the following professional groups: family judges, professional probation officers, social workers, family assistants and representatives of two kinds of social organisations, those with a defined profile of activity and those involved in social animation

Transcription Factor Prospero Homeobox 1 (PROX1) as a Potential Angiogenic Regulator of Follicular Thyroid Cancer Dissemination

It is well known that Prospero homeobox 1 (PROX1) is a crucial regulator of lymphangiogenesis, that reprograms blood endothelial cells to lymphatic phenotype. However, the role of PROX1 in tumor progression, especially in angiogenesis remains controversial. Herein, we studied the role of PROX1 in angiogenesis in cell lines derived from follicular thyroid cancer (FTC: FTC-133) and squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid gland (SCT: CGTH-W-1) upon PROX1 knockdown. The genes involved in angiogenesis were selected by RNA-seq, and the impact of PROX1 on vascularization potential was investigated using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured in conditioned medium collected from FTC- or SCT-derived cancer cell lines after PROX1 silencing. The angiogenic phenotype was examined in connection with the analysis of focal adhesion and correlated with fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) levels. Additionally, the expression of selected genes involved in angiogenesis was detected in human FTC tissues. As a result, we demonstrated that PROX1 knockdown resulted in upregulation of factors associated with vascularization, such as metalloproteinases (MMP1 and 3), FGF2, vascular endothelial growth factors C (VEGFC), BAI1 associated protein 2 (BAIAP2), nudix hydrolase 6 (NUDT6), angiopoietin 1 (ANGPT1), and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (KDR). The observed molecular changes resulted in the enhanced formation of capillary-like structures by HUVECs and upregulated focal adhesion in FTC-133 and CGTH-W-1 cells. The signature of selected angiogenic genes’ expression in a series of FTC specimens varied depending on the case. Interestingly, PROX1 and FGF2 showed opposing expression levels in FTC tissues and seven thyroid tumor-derived cell lines. In summary, our data revealed that PROX1 is involved in the spreading of thyroid cancer cells by regulation of angiogenesis

Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) expressed in thyroid and breast tissues shows similar antigenic properties.

Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) is essential for physiological function of the thyroid gland. The high prevalence of thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAbs) in patients with breast cancer and their protective role had previously been demonstrated, indicating a link between breast cancer and thyroid autoimmunity. Recently, TPO was shown to be present in breast cancer tissue samples but its antigenicity has not been analyzed.In this study, we investigated TPO expression levels in a series of fifty-six breast cancer samples paired with normal (peri-tumoral) tissue and its antigenic activity using a panel of well-characterized murine anti-human TPOAbs.We have shown that TPO transcripts were present in both normal and cancer tissue samples, although the amounts in the latter were reduced. Additionally, we observed that TPO levels are lower in more advanced cancers. TPO protein expression was confirmed in all tissue samples, both normal and cancerous. We also found that the antigenicity of the immunodominant regions (IDRs) in breast TPO resembles that of thyroid TPO, which is crucial for effective interactions with human TPOAbs.Expression of TPO in breast cancer together with its antigenic activity may have beneficial effects in TPOAb-positive breast cancer patients. However, further studies are needed to confirm the beneficial role of TPOAbs and to better understand the underlying mechanism